Sheryl Crow's high-charting new CD is one cause for her celebration.

Sheryl Crow landed in a dark place four years ago when she was dealt the double whammy of a broken engagement and a diagnosis of breast cancer. But as she steps onto the stage at Radio City Music Hall tonight, her life looks a lot brighter — thanks, in part to a new album, but more ... a second baby boy and being cancer-free.

"Before I was diagnosed, I was very particular about not seeing the audience," says Crow, 48. "I wanted the audience to be pretty dark, so there wasn't the distraction of making eye contact. Now I have to see people, I have to make that connection.

"That's what the experience is about," she adds. "I find that the connection now with people is deep. Everybody is looking for a connection. It's what coming into a room with a bunch of strangers is about, to hear music and be moved. It started to feel much more like a celebration for me."

Back in February 2006, celebrating was the last thing on Crow's mind. After three years of dating, her engagement to cyclist Lance Armstrong was abruptly called off. Soon after, she had to have surgery for cancer. While many stars may have taken a career break following those back-to-back blows, the nine-time Grammy winner used work as her refuge.

Born and raised in Missouri, Crow first followed in her mom's footsteps, becoming a music teacher at an elementary school. On weekends, she sang with local bands, and laterrecorded jingles for commercials. "I decided to leave teaching after two years and pursue the songwriting/recording dream — basically flipped a coin and wound up going to L.A.," Crow says. "I think New York seemed extremely daunting to me."

Before long she landed a gig as a backup singer for Michael Jackson, performing during his Bad World Tour from 1987 through 1989. By 1993, Crow released the first of seven studio albums, "Tuesday Night Music Club." The record's third single, "All I Wanna Do," hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 list, boosting the album to No. 3 in the charts. Her third album, "The Globe Sessions," recorded in New York and released in 1998, picked up two Grammys.

'After having spent some time in New York — because my manager's there and I've got good friends there — I wound up getting an apartment and spending most of my free time in New York," she says. "I called it home. There's something about New York that really is a creativeand nurturing place for me. It just brings about a historical feel, musically. My favorite artists came up through the Village."

After her 2006 breakup and fight against cancer, Crow pushed forward. She adopted her first son, Wyatt, in May 2007, when he was just 2 weeks old. The next year, her album"Detours" was released, followed by "100 Miles From Memphis" in July, which Crow is now supporting on a world tour. This year brought the joy of another baby boy, little Levi, now almost 5 months old, whom Crow adopted in June.

"Kids change your life — period," she says. "The first thing you think of in the morning and the last thing you think of at night is them, and every decision that you make in between is dictated by their welfare.

"My tour bus now is a family bus," she adds. "I've got both my kids and everything that they count on to keep their lives normal on there, whereas before my life was much more me-centric."

Tour dates in New York, and stays at her second home in downtown Manhattan, includelots of kid-centric stops. A favorite is Evolution in SoHo, which sells museum-quality collectibles, from fossils to insect replicas. "We love to go to Evolution because Wyatt is really into bugs," Crow says. "It's fun. We generally either hit a museum, the Bronx Zoo or we go to Central Park."

Around the time of her breakup with Armstrong, rumors suggested the reason for their split was Crow's desire to get married and have a family. While Crow won't talk about the past, her words about the presentsay plenty.

"We live in a time now where family looks like a lot of different things," she says. "Wherever you have the opportunity to give a kid love and a safe home, consistent parenting — what a gift."

While her children are safely tucked in at night, Crow takes the stage for her "100 Miles From Memphis" tour. The Memphis-style soul of the record strays from her usual pop, rock and country sound.

"I've been wanting to do it for years," she admits. "I got a little bit gun-shy, early days when I was trying to get signed. I got turned down by every record label, citing the reason that they didn't know what to do with a blue-eyed soul singer."

The new album features guests like Justin Timberlake and Keith Richards.

"One of the great things about working in a public studio is that you run into people in the hallways," Crow says. Timberlake "was there working with Jamie Foxx, and I played him 'Sign Your Name,' which is kind of an Al Green version. He looked at me and said, 'You know, I'm from Memphis,' and then volunteered to sing the backups. It was perfect timing."

The album was the Billboard 200's second-highest debut in the U.S. that week. Better yet, now she's having fun onstage every night. "The record is very upbeat," Crow says. "[The show] is like a soul revue. It's really a big celebration. People are up on their feet from beginning to the end."

And Crow is completely comfortable standing right with them — on her own two feet.